The intense and roasted flavor of garlic is enough to make your food irresistible. However, did you know that apart from being a flavorful and tasteful addition to your dish, garlic can also be quite beneficial for your health(benefits of garlic)? Not only that, one of the other uses of garlic around the household that has also made it quite popular is its ability to repel bugs.
Garlic pods contain both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, so the addition of garlic into your food significantly increases its nutritional value. If you don’t believe us, check out this amazing list of all the benefits of garlic and learn how you can gain by including this pungent and aromatic herb into your daily eating diet plan.
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Table of Contents
Health Benefits of Garlic
Read here the benefits of garlic for overall health with the regular consumption.
1. Improves Cardiovascular health
Garlic is a heart-friendly ingredient, as its consumption is linked with the lowering of the cholesterol level. Rich with sulfur, garlic tends to have a dilating effect on the inner blood vessel walls, thus lowering the accumulation of bad-cholesterol and resulting in a healthy heart.
However, it is also important to note that the compound present in garlic called allicin, which contains most of its sulfur, loses its medicinal property when cooked thoroughly. Thus, it is advised for you to eat in a semi-cooked state to increase its beneficial capacity.
2. Garlic For Detoxification Of Blood
If you are looking for something that brings a certain freshness to your skin and also improves your immunity, then you must look for something that’ll help you get rid of all the toxins present in your blood, for they are the main culprits behind it. As it happens, garlic itself is an excellent detoxifier. It is known to increase the body’s temperature, which increases perspiration, our body’s natural method of removing toxins.
A simple recipe for such results involves just two cloves of raw garlic along with some warm water.
3. Maintains Blood Pressure Level
As mentioned earlier, the amount of sulfur present in garlic is enough to exert a significant dilating effect on the blood vessels improving the heart health. This helps in negatively affecting the work of salt, which is to contract the blood vessels.
Now, it is perfectly normal for each food item to have some salt in it. However, over-consumption of salt often leads to more constricted vessels, thus resulting in high blood pressure. This is when the bioactive sulfur compounds present in garlic come into rescue mode.
By dilating the inner blood vessel walls, garlic allows for a more regulated blood flow, which is beneficial for one’s heart.
4. Strengthens Bones
According to a study done on lab-rats, it was found that garlic oil consumption aids in the suppression of ovariectomy-induced bone resorption (1). Bone resorption is the process in which the tissues of the bones are broken down and released in the form of minerals. This increases the level of calcium in the blood, which may further lead to its deposition over the kidney surface, thus resulting in the formation of kidney stones. However, by suppressing the process of resorption, the use of garlic oil can be beneficial in maintaining bone strength as your age.
5. Great for Gut Health
Consuming single raw garlic first thing in the morning along with a glass of water will surely promote your intestinal and digestive health. Garlic is shown to be effective against H. pylori infections (2), and its antimicrobial properties allow a healthy intestine to function without causing any digestive issues.
So, in layman’s terms, garlic can be considered the right choice for people suffering from intestinal problems.
6. Strengthens Immunity
Apart from having antimicrobial properties, garlic is also rich in antioxidants, which brings to the fore a whole other beneficial side of this flavorful ingredient. An antioxidant-rich diet is known to reduce the overall oxidative stress exerted on the walls of the healthy cells; thus they act more or less than an immune cell. This further shows that garlic consumption can effectively increase one’s immunity, for it can impressively aid in the prevention of free-radical damages.
7. Garlic for Managing Sugar Levels
Having high blood sugar can make you prone to diabetes and other diseases such as obesity. However, with just the consumption of garlic cloves daily, you can manage that sudden rise in your blood sugar level. In an experiment conducted by some Kuwaiti scientists, it has been found that eating boiled or even raw garlic can aid with a significant reduction of blood sugar levels (3).
Also Read: Diabetes Diet: What To Eat To Manage Blood Sugar And Keep Diabetes In Control
8. Protects Against Neurodegenerative Disorders
This is one of the most common benefits associated with eating garlic cloves regularly and is a direct result of the antioxidant properties of garlic. The antioxidants help in protecting the neuron cells from free radicals.
This property helps in delaying the development of some neurodegenerative disorders, which include Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Just 3-4 cloves of raw garlic consumed daily would be enough to do the trick.
9. Increases Iron Absorption
About 70% of the iron found in the body is found in the blood. Iron is one of the most important minerals that is required for the production of blood. One of the key roles performed by iron is its role in the production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a cell present in the blood that is used to carry oxygen around the whole body. Thus, by increasing the amount of iron absorbed in the body, garlic’s adequate consumption can help in increasing the supply of oxygen too. This further helps in keeping diseases such as anemia at bay.
10. Great For Vision And To Improve Eye health
Though it might be hard to believe at first, there have been various studies done to justify these claims. One, the consumption of garlic is shown to manage lead-induced apoptosis of the retinal cells among rats (4).
Second, it was found to reduce reduces intraocular pressure (5). Furthermore, its anti-microbial property makes it quite effective against microorganisms that cause eye-threatening conditions (6).
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11. Great For Oral Health
The same sulfur carrying active compound, allicin, which also contributes towards garlic’s antimicrobial properties, also helps in getting rid of the pathogens that are responsible for deteriorating one’s oral health. Chewing on raw garlic is one of the most common natural remedies for toothaches, and the use of a toothpaste that has garlic extracts can be quite an effective remedy for tooth decay.
12. Garlic Improves Skin
The powerful antioxidant property of garlic helps in the reduction of oxidative stress that is applied to the skin cells by the free radicals. This further aids in keeping the skin cells healthy. Moreover, the vitamins in garlic increase the cells’ water retention capabilities, thus keeping the skin moisturized and nourished.
13. Delays The Signs Of Ageing
The antioxidant property of garlic has yet another trick up its sleeve. By reducing the risks of cells getting damaged due to the oxidative stress formed by the free-radicals over the cell walls, garlic consumption can help delay the onset of some age-related concerns such as neurodegenerative diseases, grey hair, or arthritis. In fact, introducing a few cloves of garlic into your daily diet can also help you live a long and healthy life.
14. Lightens Stretch Marks – Reduces Scars
A mixture made by the infusion of two garlic cloves in warm mustard oil could be the perfect solution for getting rid of those stretch marks. Stretch marks are nothing but dead skin cells caused by the elasticity of the skin. A thorough massage with a mixture of garlic and mustard oil could remove these dead skin cells and reveal much newer and brighter cells as their replacement.
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Out of garlic powder? Here are the best garlic powder substitutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few interesting FAQs about garlic.
1. What happens if one eats garlic every day?
Garlic is highly nutritious. Consuming 1 or 2 garlic pods is beneficial. However, overconsumption of it can lead to severe side effects.
2. When should one eat garlic?
To obtain all the possible benefits, consume one raw garlic early in the morning on an empty stomach.
3. Can garlic be swallowed with water?
Yes. Raw garlic can be swallowed with water. It is advisable to take smaller chunks of garlic rather than one whole pod of it.
4. Is garlic good for the kidney?
Consuming garlic is a good option for people with chronic kidney issues because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
5. How long does garlic stay in our system?
Sulfur compounds present in garlic can stay up to two days in one’s body, resulting in stinking breath and sweat.
Final Words
All that being said, you need to note that garlic can only be beneficial if eaten raw or semi-cooked. However, raw garlic is mainly characterized as something which has no other rival, for its taste, aroma, and benefits, all together make an ingredient whose overall worth is entirely incomparable.
Disclaimer – This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information before making any dietary changes.
